Intermediate apron conveyer for sugar-cane mills.



J. 1. ARMSTRONG .& R. R. HIND.

INTERMEDIATE APRON CONVEYER FOR SUGAR CANE MILLS.

APPLICATION FELED DEC-.26. 1913. RENEWED MAY 18.1918.

1,289,075, Patented Dec. 31, 1915.

QSHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. 1. ARMSTRONG & R. R. Hmn.

INTERMEDIATE APRON CONVEYER FOR SUGAR CANE MILLS. APPLICATION FILED M026. 1913- -RENEWED MAY l8, 19H].

1,289,075. 7 Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

WTTE %T% 5' 1 T '1' .FFICE. i

JOHN JAMES anmsmone. or HONOLULU. AND ROBERT BENTON KIND, OF EWA,

TERRITORY OF HAWAII.

INTERMEDIATE APRON CONVEYER FOR SUGAR-CANE MILLS.

LZSQAWS.

Application filed December 26. 1913. Serial No. 808.797.

To a /1 01/1 [It may co/Lccrn:

Be it known that we, .loiix Jun-1s Anns'rnoxo, residing at I'lonolulu, and llonicirr liicx'rox IllNl), residing at Ewa. in the county of Honolulu and 'lerritory of Hawaii, citizens of the l nited States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Intermediate Apron Conveyors for Sug'arCane Mills: and we. do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertaius to make and use the same.

This invention relates to apron tonveyers.

such as are known as internualiate carriers and are used between sugar-cane mills for conveying the crushedwane from one mill and feeding it. to the next mill, and particularly to the aprons or belts of such conveyers. i

The apron of intermediate carriers of sugar-cane mills usually consists either of endless chains or belts with steel slats attached. or a canvas belt.

The steel slat apron cr-mveyer is objectionable due to the frequent breakages which occur, either of the slats or of the links. causing considerable loss of time. Another objection is that the diluted juices or water intended for maceration which passes through the crushed cane on the apron without having fulfilled its function, that-of absorbing sucrose in the crushed cane, is not. retained by the apron but leaks through between the. slats and mixes with the mill juices, thus adding unnecessary water which has to he evaporated later on. A greaterobjection. however, is that the cush-cush. or fine cane pulp, sifts through the openings between the slats and adheres to the links of the chain belts and to the underside of the slats and quickly inverts or becomes sour, thereby converting a quantity of good sucrose to invert sugar. This loss always occurs so long as this sour cu shcush remains on the apron to infect the juices. and it may assume large. proportions, as a slat conveyer 'annot be properly cleaned while the mill operating.

The eanvas belt apron, while not causing trouble or delays through breakage or the sifting of cush-cush through the apron. is not greatly sirperior to the slat conveycr in regard to the losses by inversion. The fabric of the canvas belt gradually absorbs the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

Renewed May 18. 1918. Serial No. 235,390.

cane juices, which sour and -ause losses of a serious proportion. These sour juices cannot be removed, nor can the canvas belt be properly cleaned while the mill is running. ()ur invention contemplates an apron of non-corrosive sheet metal, such as phosphor bronze, Muntzs metal or hard rolled copper, for example, which will overcome all of the objections above mentioned, for it will be as free from breakage as is the canvas belt. it will not absorb juices nor harbor cush-cush. and will therefore entirely eliminate the losses by inversion above mentioned, and at all times it will l). absolutely clean. This apron may be made. endless by brazing the ends together, or if preferred, the ends may be hooked or hinged together.

It may be made in one piece, or be made up of a series of suitable lengths, such that any section can be easily replaced in the event of it becom ing necessary to do so. To overcome the possible objection that the crushed cane would slip on this sheet metal apron and that therefore it would not properly feed the crushed cane to the. mill, we provide the. apron with embossments or with protubeiainces, as will hereinafter more fully appears In the accompanying drawings. forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents in sectionalelevation an intermediate carrier or apron conveyor for sugar-cane mills embodying our invention. Fig. 2 represents a half section taken on the line of Fig. 1. Fig. is a detail showing one method of hooking together the ends of our metallic apron. Fig. t represents in plan a portion of our apron showing a preferred form of embossments. Fig. 5 is a section on the line Bll of Fig. t. Fig. 6 represents a side view of a portion of our improved apron showing protuberances. and the sections hinged together. 'Fig. 7 is a detail showing one method of constructing the protuberances.

Referring to the drawings, the apron 1, which is made of non-corrosive sheet metal, such as phosphor bronze, Muntzs metal, hard rolled copper, for example, passes around the drums 2 and 3. and' conveys the crushed cane discharged from the mill C and feeds it to the mill D.--"T'h-e drum is revolved, and the drum 3 is provided with take-ups. in the same manner as is usual with canvas belt aprons. The weight of the crushed. rune in t'ansit is snpportetl by the apron I sliding upon the I lltlllllh' or supports 4. The apron 1 may he mznle tlltlltfis hy hrnzingi. or it nm he nnnle in one u! more HttllOHS suitnhl) joined. For example, the tlltls mn he ll()( l\'\(l ton-ether as shown in Fig". 3. or they mnv he hinged to get her :15 shown in li 4. t'. lo prevent the possihilitw of the tl'llSllWl enne slipping: on the 211mm 1, and to insure proper feeding to the mill l) the apron 1 may he prqyidetl with emhossments l. or with protnhe ant-es 1", or the like. A preferred form of embossments 1 is shown in Figs. 1 illl(l 5. One

form of prot uhernnees l is illustrntetl in Fig. 7, but thev could be bl'tlZLtl onto the apron 1 if preferred.

thereon to prevent slippage of the sngnrcane.

In testimony whereof we nliix onr signallll'OS. in presence of two witnesses.

JOHR JAMES AIQB'ISIRONH. ROBERT BENTON HlNl).

Witnesses:

E. V. SUTTON, CHUNG SEN. 

